My theme of #BlackMagick got pulled out of the hat for this #TuneTuesday, and while I could - and possibly will - share a number of tracks composed with specific magickal intention, I'm going to start by highlighting the grandfather of occult blues and rock, Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
Perhaps best known as the original composer of blues standard, I Put A Spell On You, Cleveland-born Hawkins was classically trained, with intentions of becoming an opera singer. Set on defying convention, and after a few false starts, he became a blues singer and pianist with a flamboyant stage persona with occult trappings comparable to the sinister camp of his contemporary, actor Vincent Price.
Hawkins' occult theatrics directly inspired artists including Arthur Brown, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, and Glenn Danzig, among others, and we can directly trace significant parts of the tone and imagery of multiple evolutions of black metal back to him, as well as punk, goth, hard rock and broader heavy metal as genres.
I Put A Spell On You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_dljGbYcCw
Hawkins and his band were reportedly trashed when recording this, inspiring the unearthly laughter, whooping and demonic grunting that can be heard on the track.
It was deemed obscene upon release, for reasons that smack of both racism and conservative sexual mores.
Hawkins at times resented the persona, exploitative trappings and even the hit that made him famous.
Living in New York and then Paris, he continued to compose, perform and act during the 1980s and '90s, despite being well set due to holding the copyright on his own music, spanning a range of genres, including with garage rock band The Fuzztones.
Voodoo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT23BuIHYZY&list=RDzT23BuIHYZY
